1. I don't want to get on a soapbox, but ...

Forget about Mark Helfrich or Bret Bielema or even Kliff Kingsbury. There wasn't a better coaching hire this past offseason than Cam Cameron.

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema (AP Photo)

There's not a single coach who has done more for a team's championship hopes than the man who, when we last saw him in college football, was being run out of town at -- of all places -- Indiana.

So when LSU coach Les Miles hired Cameron as his offensive coordinator in February, the natural reaction was this: the Tigers just hired a guy who was fired as offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14 of the NFL season -- and the Ravens went on to win the Super Bowl because the offense and quarterback Joe Flacco got hot after Cameron left.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Zach Mettenberger, 2.0. Three weeks into the season, no one is throwing the ball better than Metteneberger, who last season couldn't be trusted to throw a pass away.

And you know what that means? LSU might just get the national championship it could have -- and probably should have -- won over the last three years.

"We're a team," says LSU coach Les Miles, "with real designs on the back end of the season."

That's because Cameron has made the quarterback position at LSU -- for so long the glaring weakness of championship-caliber teams in Baton Rouge -- better than anyone could have imagined. It's just three games, but look at the strides Mettenberger has taken under Cameron -- one of the game's best teachers -- from season to season:

Look at the last number. LSU hasn't had a quarterback with that type of passer rating -- a rating based on efficiency -- since JaMarcus Russell in 2006. The days of Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee -- and even Mettenberger, circa 2012 -- preventing LSU from winning it all are over.

The offense not only has balance, it has the ability to throw intermediate and deep routes with consistency and accuracy. Imagine if LSU had that kind of ability in the passing game the last three years, when every pass play was an adventure.

In the last three seasons, LSU has lost six games and in those games, its quarterbacks have combined to throw just two touchdowns and four interceptions. The quarterback rating in those six losses: 109.4.

A more revealing number in those six games: just 6.09 yards per attempt. A typically strong yards per attempt number is anything over 8, and Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy last year with an 8.54.

Going into Saturday's game at Auburn, Mettenberger's yards per attempt is 11.5. We're only three games in, but it's clear that Cameron has made a drastic impact on Mettenberger.

3. A quick reboot

We're closing in on rounding out the first month of the season, and already there must be adjustments made in championship races. A look at the Power Five:

SEC

In: Texas A&M, LSU. I don't care that Texas A&M can't stop anyone. That wild offseason didn't affect Johnny Manziel on the field, and all the Aggies need is a turnover or two, and you're playing from behind the entire game (see: Oklahoma State, 2011). And LSU? It's all about Mettenberger.

Out: Florida, South Carolina. The Gators have the best defense in the nation, but the offense is pitiful. QB Jeff Driskel hasn't proven he can play big in big games. South Carolina, meanwhile, doesn't have a killer instinct -- and isn't nearly as good defensively as we expected.

Pac-12

In: UCLA, Washington. Stanford and Oregon are still the teams to beat, but Washington (which beat Stanford last season) and UCLA (which should have beaten Stanford last season) have cleaned up some significant glitches from 2012. Neither had the fortitude to do what they've done so far this fall: Washington's beatdown of Boise State and impressive win over Illinois in Chicago, and UCLA's rally from 18 down on the road against Nebraska.

Out: USC: For all the talent Lane Kiffin has brought to USC, this team still lacks the moxie and attitude of USC teams of the past. While they're playing better defensively, they haven't played the type of Pac-12 offense that can score multiple ways.

Big 12

In: Baylor. I get it; they've played two nobodies. Guess how many teams in college football want to play Baylor and deal with Petty and Seastrunk and Reese? If you think Texas A&M can score quickly, check out these guys.

Out: Texas, TCU. All hat, no cattle.

ACC

In: Florida State. Jameis Winston has more touchdowns (six) than incompletions (five). It's a loooong way until Oct. 19, everyone.

Out: Virginia Tech. There was a time, in the not-so-distant past, that some believed Logan Thomas was the best NFL prospect in college football. Check out these NFL numbers after two games: 3 TD, 4 INT, 47 percent completions, 5.17 yards per attempt.

Big Ten

In: Northwestern. They'll go to 4-0 after beating FCS Maine this week, then get a week off before playing host to Ohio State on Oct. 5. Win that one, and Fitz will have himself a legit championship team. It's at that point where you'll have to name at least one player on Northwestern to say I told you so. And Kain Colter doesn't count.

5. The Weekly Five

Jen Bielema would like Wisconsin to know about karma. Here are five things Jen Bielema's husband -- that's Arkansas coach Bret Bielema for those of you who follow Jen Bielema on Twitter because she's Jen Bielema (and you know who you are) -- really thinks but wouldn't tweet:

1. Here's hoping my good friend Bo Pelini gets the LSU job.

2. Did B-Al ever go to three straight Rose Bowls?

3. #Kielbasa!

4. Wisconsin Playbook Sucks. #WPS

5. This is what happens when you can't pry open a wallet.

Wisconsin QB Joel Stave took a knee late against Arizona State and the officiating fell apart from there. (AP Photo)

6. Instant screw up

Todd Graham would like everyone to know that there's a "human element" to the game of football, and can't we all just move along?

Well, no Todd, we can't.

Here's what Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said about the officiating blunder at the end of Arizona State's 32-30 victory over Wisconsin:

"After a thorough review, we have determined that the officials fell short of the high standard in which Pac-12 games should be managed. We will continue to work with all our officials to ensure this type of situation never occurs again."

Here's what he should have said:

"Never again will we not use instant replay to prevent monumental mistakes."

Coaches can use instant replay to challenge the spot of the ball. Replay officials can buzz the head official to stop play to review a catch or a fumble, if a player went out of bounds, if he stayed in bounds, if any part of his body touched the ground before going into the end zone, and time on the clock.

Yet somehow, none of it was considered by officials on the final sequence of what could cost Wisconsin a BCS bowl bid. That's the real shame here.

Forget that Wisconsin was unfairly prevented from at least attempting a game-winning chip-shot field goal. For some reason, officials on the field completely disregarded the one fail-safe set up to prevent this very thing.

Was Joel Stave's knee down? Did Stave fumble the ball? Where should the ball be spotted? How much time was on the clock?

Replay, replay, replay.

The most surprising aspect of all is how little attention this received. It took the Pac-12 until Monday afternoon to release a statement, nearly 36 hours after the game was completed.

What if, say, an SEC team was hosed by an official's call? It would be Jadeveon Clowney's big hit all over again, replayed forever for your enjoyment.

7. The target of it all

Alabama safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is flagged for a targeting foul in the first half of the Texas A&M game. Replay officials say Clinton-Dix wasn't targeting, and should not be ejected from the game.

Two big problems here:

Even though Clinton-Dix wasn't called for targeting, the Tide was still penalized 15 yards. For what, we don't know.

Had the replay booth confirmed the call, the Tide would have been without a starting safety in a secondary that already was struggling to cover against Manziel and the Aggies. Think that would have changed the outcome of the game?

Texas coach Mack Brown, the president of the American Football Coaches Association, says the rule -- while good in spirit -- isn't good for the game.

"Let's take it back; let's do what's fair," Brown said. "I'd like to see us change it."

I'm guessing Nick Saban wouldn't have been so eloquent had Clinton-Dix been kicked out of the second half -- and it cost the Tide the game.

8. Big Red Question

I've spoken to Chris Petersen at length about his desire to stay at Boise State. I've spoken to his close friends about it, and even had former Boise State coach Dirk Koetter tell me, "If Pete ever leaves, I'll kill him."

But humor me here. If Petersen were ever to leave Boise State; if he were ever to feel comfortable with a controlled environment where he's not engulfed by a media-crazed market and can be the same Coach Pete he has been at Boise, wouldn't Nebraska fit perfectly?

So I posed that question earlier this week to another of his close friends, and got this in a text, "Never."

9. A season of change

If the season trends where we think it's headed, there could be significant turnover at some mega programs.

Among the heavy hitters: Texas, USC and Nebraska. Add to that the real possibility that the NFL will come after Notre Dame's Brian Kelly (again), Penn State's Bill O'Brien (again) and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin (again), and the shakedown in December could be the biggest of its kind in the game. Maybe ever.